Tuesday, May 23, 2017

Warm weather greetings fellow progheads! My sweaty fingers are sticking to the laptop keys; summer's just about here! The heat brings out some interesting growth in the prog garden and thus far the blooms are many and varied. This week the Closet Concert pays a visit to my friend Will Geraldo. Those of you with a good memory may remember Will was featured in an interview last July discussing his many styles, bands, and influences in the prog garden. Will has recently released a new EP, "Even A Blind Fool Can See" on the Progressive Gears label.

I have not taken the search for all things prog to Brazil in a while...and the time seems right to make that journey now. Will wears many hats and has his hands in multiple prog bands; Violent Attitude If Noticed, The Opposite Of Hate, and Death By Visitation of God. He also has other solo work, but for the next fortnight I am focusing my listening skills on Will's newest release. "Even A Blind Fool Can See" is a two-song EP so me thinks I will be hitting replay quite a bit...

The title track is the lead-in and a dark, somewhat sultry mood begins to seep through the headphones. I have been listening to the many sides of Will Geraldo for some time, and I can feel the emotions dripping like honey on a hot biscuit...rolling down the sides and pooling, allowing you to savor the moment a bit longer. The opening piano, while menacing, seems to be a warning to us all about the danger of turning a blind eye. The pulsing bass that hits like a determined heartbeat echoes through your head like a deafening silence. The guitar hits you so delicately you almost miss it...like the warm breeze and bright sunshine that follow a summer tornado...your focus is elsewhere, but you can't help but notice the surroundings.

If there is a message flowing through this song--and I believe there is--it is one of determined triumph rather than aimless hope. People can no longer sit back and wish for things to turn out right; there is too much at stake. Will seems to be hitting us over the head with the obvious; step into the arena and be an active part of the solution.

Following this piece with a cover of Peter Gabriel's "Red Rain" is about as subtle as a twelve car pile-up on the interstate. Cover songs have long been a conundrum to me; is the artist paying homage to the original, a la Deep Purple with "Kentucky Woman," or is he/she re-inventing the song and thereby owning it as the Talking Heads did with "Take Me To The River."? With this production Will walks that fine line as he seems to pay homage to Peter's forceful call to action while at the same time bringing a re-invigorated sense of urgency with his cutting vocals and not-so-subtle percussion work.

Liner Notes...Will Geraldo hails from Brazil and is the arranger, composer, producer, and performer on this EP. Will told me music is his lifeline and he stays constantly involved, trying in some way to bring his passion to the listener. That being the case, "Even A Blind Fool Can See" is Will's current soapbox and he has placed it in the middle of the road and refuses to move aside.

There is so much energy leaping from this EP...so many raw nerves Will has exposed with the intention of forcing you to look and react. This release is a reflection of the world today; vitriol, anger, fear, and frustration on both sides of what has become an almost unbearable argument--and the time is now to bring it to an end. No matter your feelings one way or the other, basic human decency has been ripped from the norms of society and replaced with threats and violence. Will has drawn a line in the sand and said enough! Talk and compassion must replace intolerance and fisticuffs.

With this release Will Geraldo brings a relevance and accountability to the prog garden the way U2 did with their music in the 80's and 90's. We can--no; we must choose a side and take a stand. Music has been a catalyst for change since I can remember, and the torch is being handed to the next generation. Much the way Buffalo Springfield took it to the streets in 1966 with "For What It's Worth," so too has Will Geraldo called upon the people to put aside the rhetoric and be the change this world needs.

Alas fellow progheads, no clip this week...a two-song EP with this much fervor needs to be purchased! You can do exactly that and learn more about Will and all the artists on the Progressive Gears label at Progressive Gears Records and the Bandcamp website Will Geraldo BC. Will can also be found on Facebook Will Geraldo FB and Twitter @Willgeraldo.

Another fortnight come and gone and the prog garden continues to flourish. The search for all things prog has taken me many places, introduced me to many bands and artists, and has been an absolute thrill these past few years. To hear the message Will Geraldo is sending through his music is just one more reason to sit back and soak in all the prog garden has to offer. As I take the Closet Concert Arena on a new journey in the search for all things prog I ask you to listen to the message, purchase the EP, and get involved...until next time...

Tuesday, May 9, 2017

Greetings once again fellow progheads! I trust your experience last week with Rikard Sjoblom and Gungfly was a pleasant one; at the very least you were pushed to the superb side of the pleasure meter, no? This week I anticipate another triumph of exuberance as Inside Out Records has again asked me to review a new release from their stable of prog masters. "The Bride Said No" is the latest from Nad Sylvan and will be available for your purchase May 26th.

Although Nad has had quite a storied career, he is probably best known as the lead singer for Steve Hackett on his Genesis Revisited II album and subsequent tour. Nad has a remarkable resume that includes time with Agents of Mercy, Unifaun, and some impressive solo work. However; being asked by Steve Hackett to perform with Genesis Revisited brought Nad and his talents to the forefront, bringing much deserved credit and attention. "The Bride Said No" is a concept album that picks up where 2015's "Courting the Widow" left off. So off to the business of reviewing we go...

The album is very ornate and gothic; the heavy keyboards and penetrating guitar work are reminiscent of (ironically) early Genesis. Nad painted a rather dark piece in 2015 with "Courting the Widow"...a tale that delves into the ominous world of the vampiric and otherworldly. With "The Bride Said No" Nad takes the story further, goes deeper, and gets more extravagant.

My first cut for review, "The White Crown," leaps immediately into a more medieval time; almost as if a music box is opened and a sinister ballerina dressed in black pirouettes her way through your head. The keyboards are entwined with guitars throughout as they flow eerily through your auditory canals, ultimately rolling down your spine. You can smell the burning wax from the candelabra and sense an aura of uncertainty as the vocals echo on...a very graphic piece indeed...

Next up on this gaudy buffet is "A French Kiss in an Italian Cafe." The darkness here is rather mysterious...nothing to worry about but the intrigue is palpable. Nad's vocals are haunting as the canvas is filled slowly and deliberately with a dark portrait of emotions that erupt as quickly as they flame out. The saxophone cuts right through your senses as the song winds down...you are standing in a jazz filled nightclub wondering what just happened--and how long before it rolls back around...

Liner Notes...Nad has built a storied career and continues to stretch his abilities and grow. While spending much of his time in the classic, standard-bearing section of the prog garden, Nad has reached across many sections, touching down and laying roots in the eclectic, ornate, classic, and jazz-fused acreage as well.

This new album has quite an ensemble; in addition to Nad on lead vocals, guitars, piano, keyboards, and acoustic guitar, the star-studded line-up includes Steve Hackett, Roine Stolt, and Guthrie Govan on guitar, Tony Levin on Chapman stick, electric and upright bass, Jonas Reingold on bass, Doane Perry on drums, and Nick D'Virgilio on drums and percussion. The studio gets more crowded with Jade Ell, Tania Doko, and Sheona Urquhart on vocals. Sheona lays down that incredible sax solo on "French Kiss" for those keeping score. Alfons Karabuda is on water phone, Anders Wollbeck plays additional keys and with Nad is credited for programming, orchestration sound design.

Suffice to say a lot of planning, producing, and orchestrating went into this album , and a lot of
A-Listers in the prog world left their mark on it. This is an album you will want to have in your prog collection...just be careful with that candelabra...

The album is scheduled for release May 26th at the Inside Out Music website Insideout Music.
Pre-orders are also available now at iTunes and Amazon. Nad can be found on Facebook atNad Sylvan FB and you can keep up with him on tour and in the studio on Twitter @SylvanOfficial.

The final course for this extravaganza is the title cut; quite a standout in its own right. More sanguine than the previous cuts, "The Bride Said No" smacks you like a jilted lover. Nad's vocal duet with Tania is absolutely perfect; the emotions rise up like an over zealous souffle. Guitars and keyboards once again keep the tempo leaping across the mood meter like a house cat toying with a cornered mouse...calculating, stalking, and finally leaping through the headphones victorious and satisfied. As the song reaches its climax, you sense that perhaps the bride has too...

Posted below is an early release of the first single from the album, "The Quartermaster." Almost a dreamscape as the music draws back the curtain...and the madness begins. Nad isn't a breath of fresh air--he is a gust of wind. His approach is counter to most; what would come off as trite or "plastic" by some leaps from the canvas as bold and refreshing as a frozen margarita in July in Nad's world. The prog garden bursts with energy as piano and drums walk in lock step across the inner lining of your skull, goaded on by guitars that penetrate deep...of course the song ends as abruptly as a dirty joke in Sunday School, but that's part of the wizardry as the master spins his web of illusion...

So fellow progheads, I urge you to purchase this latest release from Inside Out Music. Nad Sylvan has leapt forth from the dark shadows of the prog garden with an ominous concept album that simmers with a deliberate tension just below the surface...and bursts through the headphones like a levee letting loose the flood.

Nad Sylvan bring a force to the prog garden with a voice that rises to the challenge presented by a strong supporting cast of guitars, keyboards, and drums. The ensemble behind the curtain is impressive in and of itself; the raw energy everyone brought to the studio when laying these tracks down is evident throughout. This is an album you won't play just once; it will stay in the CD carousel as you assemble other discs worthy to accompany it and set the tone for your listening pleasure--and your imagination.

Of course, now is the time the search for all things prog pulls up stakes and continues on. Inside Out Music has an impressive line-up of artists and bands and the prog garden is the perfect place for them to mature. The Concert Closet continues the journey so you can sit back and enjoy...until next time...

Tuesday, May 2, 2017

Fellow progheads, thank you for continuing to come back to the Closet Concert Arena! This week yet another gem is preparing to emerge from the prog garden; I am privileged to have been asked by Inside Out Records to review the latest release from Rikard Sjoblom's Gungfly. The band's latest release, "On Her Journey To The Sun" is a limited edition double CD and scheduled for release May 19th.

Learning of the demise of Beardfish was a bitter pill, but from those ashes Rikard has brought forth another stellar prog band taking up residence in the eclectic, free-spirited section of the prog garden. Let us then take the search for all things prog to Sweden and immerse ourselves in the diverse sounds of Rikard Sjoblom's Gungfly.

My first selection walks a tightrope as it balances a jazzy nightclub sound with earthy overtones, "Old Demons Die Hard." There are creamy smooth top notes of The Style Council blending with the avant-garde mindset of Frank Zappa on this cut. Rikard walks you down what is at first perceived as a familiar path only to swerve left, veering into a section of the garden where the temperament tends to fluctuate from upbeat to offbeat. Gungfly paints using a varied pallet and soft brushes, floating across the canvas like pulled sugar strung in a candy shop.

Digging into a second helping, I am taken by the depth of "The River of Sadness." The music flows from a calliope-like giddiness to the throes of a melancholy journey across a life beset with unanticipated strife...but all the while there is an air of ease and confidence that belies the title. An upbeat mood weaves its way through the entire piece, creating a protective aura much like a mother lion guarding her cubs. Rikard toys with your emotions as he sails deeper down the river...

Liner Notes...Rikard is originally from Gavle, Sweden and started on his musical journey at the age of five. Fast forward--if that's possible--through a career that spans several bands, band mates, line-up changes past and present, and thus we reach the culmination that is Gungfly. In addition to Rikard Sjoblom playing guitars, keyboards, and singing lead vocals, Gungfly consists of David Zackrisson on guitar, Rasmus Diamant on bass, Sverker Magnusson and Martin Borgh on keyboards, and Petter Diamant on drums.

Rikard performed and wrote with Beardfish and Gungfly simultaneously, at first using Gungfly as an outlet for music which didn't quite within the vast parameters of the Beardfish section of the prog garden...although Beardfish tilled acreage across such a vast expanse of the garden it is difficult to imagine much they would not dabble in...

My third serving from what truly is a remarkable spread this week is "Polymixia," an eleven-minute escape from all that is wrong with the world. The song opens as if I have stumbled into a third dimension jam session; Rikard makes use of the keyboards and then some on this piece as he waltzes through your mind pinball-like...lights flashing, score climbing, and your mind just this side of "tilt." The other side of my eyelids are exploding with an array of color Crayola was not able to fit into their box of 64...you are left not so much breathless as awed.

The album is scheduled for release on Inside Out Music May 19th and pre-orders are available atRikard Sjoblom Gungfly and InsideOut Music. You can follow Rikard on Facebook as well atRikard Sjoblom FB. For serious fans you can keep up with Rikard, Gungfly, and all the bands and their newest/latest releases on the Inside Out Music label on Twitter @InsideOutUSA.

To motivate you just a bit and get you in that "gotta buy the music" mood, I offer you the title cut below. This is Rikard being Rikard; relaxed and pouring out his personal and emotional best while you get to sit back, relax, and enjoy. When the last of the 2017 sand falls through the hourglass and the inevitable "best of" lists are written, compiled, argued over, and dissected, this is one album that should make most lists and cause the least fights...

One more week spent in the prog garden is one more week of pure bliss, and spending it listening to Gungfly made it all the better. Rikard Sjoblom does not miss a step; his mental agility and acute insight into the inner workings of the mind make "On Her Journey To The Sun" all the more hypnotic. This is an album that needs to breathe...and once unleashed will fill your headphones--and the room--with a plethora of sights and sounds.

Inside Out Music has more new prog releases on the horizon, so the journey continues...the search for all things prog just got more adventurous...until next time...